Chapter 272: Domestic 5G chips, who says they can’t be made [Subscription Request]

"I didn't expect them to be so persistent. They didn't agree to cooperate with us until the document came into effect. This is really stupid!"

California Asia.

San Diego.

In the president's office of the Northrop Grumman Corporation building, Huget was slamming the documents on the desk, not trying to hide his unhappy mood.

So much so that Leon next to him could only stand there obediently.

I dare not say a word.

It should have been a matter that could be easily controlled, but after more than a year of buffer period, there was no sign of improvement.

Still haven’t gotten the gallium nitride radar technology.

It was he who proposed to Senator Gwen that he should put pressure on him to agree to cooperate. Although the proposal was not implemented entirely for GaN radar, it did not conflict with what he wanted. According to his analysis, facing the development of the semiconductor industry being locked, sharing GaN radar is the right choice no matter how you look at it.

However, China chose a very unwise path and actually wanted to develop its own extreme ultraviolet lithography machine.

No matter who thinks this is, it is impossible to succeed.

After all, the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine is not entirely a technical patent that belongs to Ames alone.

Instead, it is the integration of the world's top technologies that has created this industrial pearl.

Facts have proved that extreme ultraviolet lithography machines are indeed like this, and not everyone can make one casually.

Otherwise, after more than a year of buffer period, China would not have not made any breakthrough progress in the research and development of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.

If we had chosen to compromise earlier and shared gallium nitride radar technology, we probably wouldn't be in the current predicament.

Even Northrop felt embarrassed.

In the following time, Huget's emotions gradually calmed down, and he sat back in his seat, a little breathless.

It was not until this time that Leon next to him dared to speak.

"They are still too confident in their scientific research technology, thinking that they can develop extreme ultraviolet lithography machines after solving the problems in aviation and aerospace."

"In fact, the difficulty gap between the two is completely different."

"Now that the document is about to take effect, the situation in their semiconductor industry will become increasingly difficult."

After hearing what Leon said, Huget naturally agreed with it.

But still holding back the anger.

Hearing this, he immediately agreed: "They asked for it."

However, compared to his boss's mood, Leon definitely has more things to consider.

The most important of these is gallium nitride radar.

During this year, due to the company's shift in direction, it was believed that gallium nitride radar technology was already in its grasp.

The other party will definitely share it actively.

As a result, the company's research on gallium nitride radar has been much less intensive than before.

As a result, the application of GaN radar is still not possible at present.

It seems impossible to share technology now, but gallium nitride radar is indispensable to aircraft, and ultimately the responsibility will fall on him.

In this situation, he must make preparations early, otherwise he will not be able to cope with the sudden pressure.

The best solution is to find a way to achieve technology sharing.

At least this is the most efficient one.

So the thought stayed here, and the next second he took the initiative to ask.

"boss."

"Should we continue to strive for cooperation with the other party?"

"How about I go there myself?"

Leon feels that now that the document is about to take effect, the pressure on the other party in the semiconductor industry will increase again compared to before, and it should be a good opportunity to discuss cooperation.

If you go there in person or send someone to discuss the cooperation face to face at this time, it may be more effective.

Maybe we can reach an agreement directly.

By the time the company has acquired the gallium nitride radar technology, he will no longer have this pressure.

But after all, he is representing Northrop, so whether it can be done depends on the CEO's opinion on the matter.

Huget was quite serious and listened to everything Leon said.

But the final answer was given in a firm tone.

"Since they are so persistent, let them keep doing this."

"Let's put the cooperation aside for now."

Leon was somewhat unprepared to hear his boss' words.

He was slightly surprised, but soon came to his senses and immediately took over the conversation and asked again.

Obviously he didn't want to give up.

"Put it on hold?"

"Boss, I think the success rate of this cooperation is quite high."

Huget shook his head and asked, "Do you think we still have the final say in the current situation?"

"The purpose of the House is very clear. They don't want to see the other side's rapid development in science and technology. That's why they use this method to restrict the other side and make the semiconductor industry lag behind the international level."

“Only in this way can they feel at ease.”

"Even if the other party shares GaN radar now, the documents that have already come into effect will not be revoked so quickly."

Leon hadn't thought about these things before, until he realized that the situation had become so complicated.

I feel mixed emotions.

Don't know what to say.

After a little thought, I finally decided to ask about the thing I cared about most.

“What about the gallium nitride radar?”

"We can only continue our research. Since the other party dares to challenge the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, who says we can't develop gallium nitride radar?"

“This is much simpler than an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, right?”

As Hugett finished speaking, Leon's reminder suddenly reminded him of something.

So I took the initiative to ask:
"correct."

“What is the current status of research on GaN radar?”

As the saying goes, what you fear is bound to happen. When Leon heard his boss asking about his company's gallium nitride radar, the expression on his face suddenly became awkward.

But in this situation, it is not easy to hide anything, so I have to tell the truth.

"We have made some progress compared to before, but if we want to reach the power performance of the other party's gallium nitride radar, I am afraid we still need to conduct a lot of experimental research. The main reason is that the progress has slowed down a bit during this period."

When Huget heard Leon say this, he had no idea of ​​the details.

But there is nothing we can do about it.

After all, who could have thought that the course of events would be completely different from what was expected.

He took a deep breath, then waved his hand and said:

"We still need to continue the research on gallium nitride radar. Thank you for your hard work in this matter."

"But there's no need to rush now."

"Anyway, the enemy is in a bad situation right now, so it doesn't matter if we are ahead in radar technology for the time being."

What Leon fears most is being asked to complete the technical breakthrough of gallium nitride radar within a specified time.

This is simply impossible to do.

Just like others cannot replicate the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine.

Now I hear my boss say that there is no need to be too pressed for time, and I feel relieved.

The next second he immediately responded: "I understand, boss."

"High-end chips are the lifeline of future technological development. If they cannot manufacture high-end chips, they will have no choice but to compromise. I'd like to see how long they can hold out. Perhaps they will come to us soon after the document takes effect."

"But by that time, they will need to come up with more than just gallium nitride radar."

Hugett spoke with confidence at this time, as if the scene had already appeared in his mind.

Leon undoubtedly agreed with his boss's words. After all, the difficulty of the extreme ultraviolet lithography machine was there, and it was indeed impossible for others to successfully replicate it.

But he didn't know what he was thinking of, and then suddenly his head twitched and he asked subconsciously.

"boss."

"What if the other party really develops an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine?"

After hearing what Leon said, Huget didn't say anything immediately, but a disdainful sneer immediately appeared on his face.

"Absolutely impossible."

"Don't worry, even if we give them a few more years, they still won't be able to develop an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine."

"Even if we do achieve results later, our lithography technology has already been upgraded. They will never surpass us in the semiconductor field."

Leon just said that casually. After listening to his boss's words, he nodded to show that he understood.

Then he stopped talking.

After reaching such a conclusion regarding the gallium nitride radar issue, Leon did not stay any longer.

He quickly said something and turned and left.

After all, my boss has assigned me the task of researching gallium nitride radar. Even if I don't have to work on time, I still need to pay attention to it. Otherwise, I will not be able to give a good answer when my boss asks me next time.

……

Soon as the document officially came into effect, the domestic high-end chip industry entered a complete cold winter.

In addition to being unable to purchase 5G chips from overseas, even if we design them ourselves, we are unable to produce them.

If we don’t overcome the difficulties as soon as possible, we will not be able to enter the 5G era.

The longer the delay, the greater the gap with the international level.

Everyone knows that high-end chips represent performance, especially now that chips are used in many industries, and the number of areas affected is not small.

It is no exaggeration to say that it feels like the darkest moment.

Even the majority of netizens feel powerless. The confidence and excitement they previously felt due to the progress in the aerospace field seem to be gradually draining away from them.

And especially at this time, the more we should do something.

It is worth mentioning that compared with the Science City Lithography Factory, which is seizing the time and actively carrying out experiments, Warwick Technology has finally received good news.

-

"Chairman."

“We’re really releasing it now, and this doesn’t seem to make any sense?”

Shenzhen.

Warwick headquarters building.

In the chairman's office, Xu Weifeng was somewhat puzzled and expressed his confusion to the chairman Ren Guofei.

After persisting for this period of time, they successfully completed the research and development of the first domestically produced 5G chip, which is definitely a new milestone for the domestic chip industry.

You must know that in the past, due to various reasons, domestic manufacturers directly purchased chips from overseas companies.

There is no plan to design their own products. They have also made a breakthrough by trying things that others dare not do.

After that incident, Xu Weifeng had proposed to the chairman to stop the chip project.

But in the end, it was the insistence of Chairman Ren Guofei that kept the Kirin chip project from being suspended and allowed research and development to continue while ensuring funding.

Fortunately, the result did not disappoint everyone.

Through the efforts of all project members, the first domestically produced 5G high-end chip was finally developed.

And before the document officially came into effect, through testing of the chip, the data obtained showed that the chip performance was no worse than that of overseas products.

This was definitely a very big surprise.

Looking at the entire industry, everyone knows who the leading chip companies are, and the most famous of them is undoubtedly Qualcomm.

The other party released the first 5G baseband chip two years ago.

The key is that Qualcomm has been deeply involved in the chip field for many years, so it is normal for it to have such strength.

But the performance of the first 5G chip they developed is so outstanding.

Not to mention that Xu Weifeng was extremely surprised, even Ren Guofei was in such a good mood after finding out that he ate an extra bowl of rice.

Unfortunately, such an excellent domestic 5G chip can only be seen but cannot enter the market.

After all, the document has now officially come into effect, and no wafer foundry in the world can manufacture their Kirin chips. This means that after investing so much money in developing the chips, they currently cannot even recover the research and development costs.

If there is no document, then one can imagine what a huge sensation such a high-performance, domestically produced 5G chip would cause when it enters the market.

In addition to allowing the company to obtain sufficient profits, more importantly, it is expected to regain chip market share from overseas.

Originally, according to Xu Weifeng's idea, he did not plan to release this chip to the outside world right now. After all, there was no way to mass-produce it.

Wait until the country successfully develops an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine, and then bring it out openly.

Let overseas countries know that high-end chips can also be designed, not just with extreme ultraviolet lithography machines.

However, Chairman Ren Guofei holds a completely different opinion on this matter.

He believes that times like this are more important than ever to use this chip to boost people's self-confidence.

At least we should give everyone hope for domestic chips.

When Ren Guofei faced Xu Weifeng's questioning, the two of them naturally would not argue in the office.

After letting the other party sit down first, he began to explain:
"There is indeed no new news about the development of domestic extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, and we cannot put this chip on the market, but I think the public should know about its existence."

"Perhaps this is the darkest moment for the domestic semiconductor industry, but it also requires everyone's joint efforts."

"We chose to release the first domestically-made 5G chip now to let everyone know that we are still working hard."

"Who says we can't make our own 5G chips? I believe we can make them if we have them. It's just a matter of time."

"Just do what I say. Hold a press conference as soon as possible and make it as grand as possible."

Xu Weifeng originally thought that there was no need to release it now, but after listening to the chairman's words, his thoughts quickly changed and he thought that what the chairman said was indeed correct.

Judging from the current mood of the majority of netizens, there is indeed a need for something like this to uplift people's hearts.

After quickly figuring it out, Xu Weifeng let his thoughts stay here and didn't waste any more time.

He immediately responded.

"Director Ren."

"I know what to do, and this press conference will definitely let everyone know."

Ren Guofei undoubtedly trusted Xu Weifeng's ability to do things. After getting the guarantee from the other party, he didn't say anything more. Instead, he brewed a pot of tea for the two of them to drink.

With the chairman's direct words, the entire company undoubtedly attaches great importance to this press conference.

After determining the specific time, we began to promote it across the entire network.

In addition to inviting audiences and industry leaders to attend on site, the entire press conference will also be broadcast live on multiple platforms.

Since the promotional content did not mention the chip, it was kept a secret for netizens, which made them very curious about it.

As the related topics became hot searches, in addition to mainstream platforms such as Weibo, Tieba, and Zhihu.

Even many penguin groups are discussing it.

Everyone is speculating who will be the protagonist of this press conference?
"Huawei is suddenly making such a big fuss. Is it going to launch a new flagship model?"

"It has topped the trending search lists on many platforms. This is really a big deal. I don't remember this happening when launching new phones before."

"If the 5G chip problem cannot be solved, to be honest, even if a new model of mobile phone is launched, there is no desire to upgrade to a new one."

"I always feel like I'm holding back on a big move."

"The style this time is indeed different from before. I think we can wait and see. Maybe there will be a surprise."

"I don't think there is anything surprising. Can Huawei say that it has developed an extreme ultraviolet lithography machine? Don't forget that the Institute of Optoelectronics Technology has not made any new progress yet."

"Does anyone know if Academician Xu has received it recently? It feels like he hasn't appeared online for a long time."

"Could it be that Academician Xu is participating in some confidential project?"

"I don't know when we can solve the 5G problem. I really want to experience the legendary 5G network speed."

……

Although netizens have mixed reactions to this press conference, one thing is absolutely certain.

I will definitely come in and take a look after the press conference officially starts.

As time passed, the press conference announced by Warwick was getting closer and closer.

Netizens were also eager to try it out, and some even waited in the live broadcast room for a long time.

2018 6 Month 13 Day.

Wednesday.

7 p.m.

The launch conference of the first domestically produced 5G chip was officially held in the building of Warwick Technology Company.

The speaker was Xu Weifeng.

According to the procedure, when Xu Weifeng, dressed in formal attire, walked onto the stage, a picture appeared on the big screen behind him.

However, because the important information has been blocked, it has aroused everyone's curiosity even more.

As netizens flocked into the live broadcast room, the number of barrages continued to increase at a very fast rate.

"coming."

"It finally begins."

“Who knows who will be the protagonist of the press conference?”

"It turned out to be Mr. Xu who was the speaker. I remember he seemed to be in charge of chips."

"Please announce it quickly, we can't wait any longer."

“I feel like this is a real surprise.”

"I hope it's really a big one."

Although Xu Weifeng didn't know the content of the barrage at this time, he couldn't help feeling a little excited.

After all, it is the first 5G chip independently developed in China, and its performance is not much worse than that of Qualcomm. Even if it cannot be manufactured at this stage, it is still exciting.

Then, according to the original press conference process, he livened up the atmosphere after his opening remarks.

"I'm glad that you all are attending Warwick's new product launch today. What we are launching today is..."

“China’s first 5G Kirin chip.”

"Please look at the big screen."

Amidst everyone's anticipation, Xu Weifeng said that the protagonist of today's press conference was actually the domestically produced 5G chip.

Both the audience and the netizens in the live broadcast room were stunned.

Obviously didn't expect this.

The barrage paused for about two seconds, and then suddenly reached a new peak.

In everyone's perception, facing the 5G field in China, which currently has almost no hope, no one should invest money in it, let alone continue to insist on developing domestic high-end chips.

So it was a pleasant surprise to see such a result.

"Fuck!"

“They actually developed a 5G chip.”

“This is such a surprise.”

"It seems like I made the right decision to come to the live broadcast today. Warwick really has a big trick up his sleeve."

“I just don’t know how the performance is?”

"So what if we have domestically made high-end chips? The key is that we have no way to produce them!"

Among the massive amount of comments that refreshed rapidly, most people were happy about this.

The emotions that had been dormant for a long time became excited again.

Although some people expressed great regret that they finally had domestically produced 5G high-end chips, but there was no way to produce them.

However, no matter how regrettable it is, for netizens, the most important thing is the performance of the chip.

After all, chips developed by overseas companies have occupied the domestic market for so many years. If the performance of domestically developed 5G chips is not good, it will probably be difficult for them to occupy the market.

Xu Weifeng had naturally anticipated this, and then he introduced the Kirin chip in detail.

Originally, many people just wanted to join in the fun and see what kind of advanced product could make Warwick launch it with such a big fanfare.

No intention to continue watching at all.

However, after learning that the protagonist of the press conference was actually the domestically produced 5G chip, very few people chose to exit the live broadcast room.

Especially when Xu Weifeng announced the actual performance test data of this chip, netizens’ eyes widened instantly, and it can be said that they were once again shocked.

No one expected that the performance of the first domestically produced 5G chip would be comparable to that of high-end overseas chips.

If we continue at this pace, we will sooner or later surpass the performance of overseas high-end chips.

By then, the domestic chip market will be in our own hands.

no doubt.

The conference was a success.

At least the success has restored everyone's confidence, and they believe that the manufacturing and production problems of high-end chips can definitely be solved.

Some people even went to the official website of the Academy of Sciences to leave messages, asking for the domestic extreme ultraviolet lithography machines to speed up the progress so that they can be the first to manufacture the Kirin chip.

The news of the release of the first 5G chip in China was quickly reported by overseas media.

However, most of the opinions expressed in the news are filled with arrogance and disdain.

Because in their view, let alone Huawei releasing the first 5G chip, even if the chip's performance far exceeds that of overseas leading companies internationally.

That is no different from waste.

After all, which company would worry about chips that cannot be manufactured at all?

It has no influence on the high-end chip market at all.

But what overseas people don’t know is that although China currently has no way to develop extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, it has directly built a lithography factory.

And under Xu Yuan's leadership, the lithography factory has made rapid progress and is now able to start EUV lithography experiments.

……

(End of this chapter)